2016 Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma
The 2016 Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma is the sixteenth and final race of the 2016 IndyCar Series. The defending champion of the race entering the event is Scott Dixon. The only contenders to win the trophy are two Team Penske drivers, of Simon Pagenaud and Will Power who both won four races in the 2016 season. Simon Pagenaud won the race and the title, after Will Power was forced to finish outside the top 15. Drivers entered 22 drivers commented to the race. *Simon Pagenaud *Will Power *Scott Dixon *Hélio Castroneves *Josef Newgarden *Tony Kanaan *Graham Rahal *Carlos Munoz *Charlie Kimball *James Hinchcliffe *Alexander Rossi *Sébastien Bourdais *Ryan Hunter-Reay *Juan Pablo Montoya *Mikhail Aleshin *Conor Daly *Marco Andretti *Takuma Sato *Max Chilton *Jack Hawksworth *Spencer Pigot *RC Enerson *Entering the race, everyone from Simon Pagenaud up until Conor Daly were seeded for the Garrett Morris vs. Alfonso Ribeiro and Todd Chrisley vs. Sara Evans if the seedings were by standings. **It denies big faces like Apolo Anton Ohno, Chespin and Pee Saderd seedings. Practice 1 The men's singles final from Garrett Morris vs. Alfonso Ribeiro and Todd Chrisley vs. Sara Evans between Russia captain Pee Saderd and Swiss Chespin will take place during the practice. During the practice, the match ended with a great double bagel victory by Saderd over Chespin, taking home the trophy. Hélio Castroneves (who was upset by the Swiss Chespin) and Pee Saderd, who were ranked 1-2 entering Sonoma on the BATC Contestant Rankings, topped the practice, but Chespin a fellow finalist only managed 21st. Practice 2 Hélio Castroneves topped the practice. Practice 3 Marco Andretti, who didn't get captain status to Pee Saderd, topped the practice. This is the third out of three that one of Helio Castroneves or Pee Saderd topped the practice charts. Qualifying Qualifying will take place on Jimmie Johnson's 41st birthday in Sonoma. Seeds Seedings are captains of an IndyCar team entering the event, after Watkins Glen. Another change before the event was the Russian national IndyCar team, who shifted from Galvantula to Pee Saderd once again. Gilles Marini (Qualified) Will Power (Qualified) Scott Dixon (Fast 12) Hélio Castroneves (Qualified) Josef Newgarden (Fast 12) Tony Kanaan (First round) Graham Rahal (Qualified) Carlos Muñoz (First round) Garbiñe Muguruza (Fast 12) Pamela Anderson (First round) Metagross (Fast 12) Sébastien Bourdais (Fast 12) Ryan Hunter-Reay (Qualified) Dragonite (Qualified) Joey Fatone (Fast 12) Allen Ford (First round) Pee Saderd (First round) Apolo Anton Ohno (First round) Bristol Palin (First round) Sceptile (First round) Magearna (First round) Magearna (First round) Group 1 Contains of: Dragonite, Will Power, Gilles Marini, Sceptile, Garbiñe Muguruza, Apolo Anton Ohno, Tony Kanaan, Josef Newgarden, Magearna, Sébastien Bourdais, Allen Ford Captains advancing are: Gilles Marini, Dragonite, Sébastien Bourdais, Josef Newgarden, Will Power, Garbiñe Muguruza Captains not advancing are: Tony Kanaan, Apolo Anton Ohno, Sceptile, Magearna and Allen Ford Group 2 Contains of all four Andretti Autosport captains (two-time reigning Celebrity Family Feud men's singles champion Pee Saderd, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Metagross and Carlos Munoz), Scott Dixon, Hélio Castroneves, Graham Rahal, Pamela Anderson, Joey Fatone, Magearna and Bristol Palin. Three of the four Garrett Morris vs. Alfonso Ribeiro and Todd Chrisley vs. Sara Evans semifinalists (Pee Saderd, Hélio Castroneves and Chespin) were drawn in the group. The last time both Celebrity Family Feud finalists from the previous episode were drawn in the same qualifying group was 2016 BATC Season 8 Finals, which was the week of Gus Kenworthy vs. Sheryl Underwood and David Chokachi vs. Alan Thicke; and both Castroneves and Saderd drew themselves together. This is the first time since 2015 that both the reigning Family Feud champion and the reigning finalist both failed to qualify for second round of qualifying. Due to Pee Saderd's 7th place result in their group, Takkatan Chonlada and Tai Orathai didn't advance. Captains advancing are: Ryan Hunter-Reay, Hélio Castroneves, Joey Fatone, Graham Rahal, Metagross, Scott Dixon Captains not advancing are: reigning Celebrity Family Feud champion Pee Saderd, Carlos Munoz, Bristol Palin, Pamela Anderson, Magearna Round 2 Contains of: Gilles Marini, Dragonite, Sébastien Bourdais, Will Power, Josef Newgarden and Garbiñe Muguruza (from group 1), Ryan Hunter-Reay, Hélio Castroneves, Joey Fatone, Graham Rahal, Metagross and Scott Dixon (from group 2). Captains advancing are: Gilles Marini, Graham Rahal, Hélio Castroneves, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dragonite, Will Power Captains not advancing are: Scott Dixon, Metagross, Joey Fatone, Sébastien Bourdais, Josef Newgarden and Garbiñe Muguruza Fast Six Qualified: Gilles Marini, Graham Rahal, Hélio Castroneves, Will Power, Dragonite, Ryan Hunter-Reay Race Simon Pagenaud won the race, led the majority of it expect for the ones led by Graham Rahal and Hélio Castroneves, both of them 2015 contenders. Will Power was forced to finish lower than 15th for the second race in the row with an engine issue. Scott Dixon finished a lap down to Pagenaud, forcing him to drop 3rd to 6th, his first non-top 5 season in over 10 years. Notable top ten finishers include Pee Saderd and Garbiñe Muguruza, the October 8 and October 19 club. It was Pee Saderd who gave Russia a first top ten under Saderd and Russia's first top ten finish since the 2016 Honda Indy Toronto; to continue increasing the Russian's chance for a Choot Tee 9 album. After the race, the standings were used for the seedings at the 2016 Swiss Open, men's and women's singles. Seedings in the standings were from Simon Pagenaud all the way down to Marco Andretti. Notable names that have a BATC ranking higher than their seeding include Pee Saderd (No.2 entering the tournament, No.32), Hélio Castroneves (No.1 entering the tournament, No.5) and Scott Dixon (No.6 entering the tournament, No.11). Trivia Category:2016 in sports Category:IndyCar Category:2016 in the United States